Project management is a key element to the successful completion of any project. There are very few aspects or principals of project management that differ, whether the project happens to be a civil engineering task such as improving a road or bridge, or a communications project involving software and hardware migration. Establishing plans, milestones, estimates of resources and schedules, and then monitoring progress against the plan, taking remedial action where necessary, apply equally to projects in any business discipline.
Multi-project business environments typically generate multiple priorities for project resources and managers alike, and can make focusing on individual problems difficult for the assigned manager to achieve. Driven by ever changing opportunities, multi-project organizations tend to launch projects as soon as they are understood, but without sufficient regard to the capacity of the organization. In order to alleviate this problem, multi-tasking of projects is typically used. Multi-tasking of projects allows individual managers to be assigned to multiple tasks, often differing from their specialized discipline, in order to reduce the number of personnel resources the projects requires. A common result is that the responsibility for sorting out an array of conflicting priorities and problems falls to inappropriate department managers, often unsuited to provide adequate solutions and frequently after the project has begun. If an individual is selected for a specific task they are unfamiliar with, or of which is not associated with the individuals department, the overall success and quality of the completed project may be jeopardized.
The practices of early project starts and multitasking have become recognized as common practice in many organizations, and have been incorporated into project management software tools. The software tools typically default to “ASAP” scheduling, and offer multitasking features associated with the scheduling of the project, but not the personnel. This can lead to project decisions being made “ready or not”, and further enhance the possibility of associating incorrect individuals with project responsibilities.
Thus, there is a significant need for a method and system for improving project management techniques and software that overcome the above disadvantages and shortcomings, as well as other disadvantages.